Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

We are so thankful for the year we have had and all we have learned and look forward to a wonderful 2011!!

Snow....well, ICE Day! No School!

I find myself a little sad when school is canceled, not because the kids will be home and it will be more hectic. Not because I have to scramble to find daycare but because I miss hearing about their day. Especially now that Ava is also enrolled I am still not over how cute she looks as she bounces out of the car with her little red backpack!
I absolutely love hearing about their day at school and looking through their folder at graded papers and school work. Even Ava has picked up on my excitement. When we would pick Jenna up and I would immediately look in her binder at the paperwork she would bring home, and now when I pick Ava up she excitedly says "Mommy, do you want to see my folder".
The idea of raising my kids and allowing them to grow up is quite frightening most times but watching them go to school and learn and develop is so rewarding. Being a parent can be one of the most challenging jobs but it is definitely the most rewarding!

New Pictures....

Just posted TONS and I do mean tons of new pictures on our Shutterfly site! Click Family Pictures to go visit! I just uploaded every picture saved on my phone. Warning: some are not great quality as they are all taken with my Blackberry...my camera broke mid year:( but wanted to save them. There are almost 800 photos on there so beware!!!

Christmas Lights

There is a House in Godfrey that has the area buzzing! It is the Lights on Paris Dr and it is truly amazing! They have their lights synchronized with a radio station for the display. We took the kids by last night and we could sit there for hours! The video doesn't do it justice since it is with my phone but had to share a bit for those of you that are out of town...typical you can hear the question master (Jenna) in the background chatting away:)

Homeowner Jason Adams estimates there are between 90,000 and 100,000 lights on display. Over the past four years, the holiday arrangement has expanded and now extends partially into his neighbor's yard.

You can't see in the videos but in their front window Santa was in gathering presents and walking around and waving. Ava kept waving and giggling and Cole kept saying "It's Ha Ha" (he says Ha Ha instead of Ho Ho)

Ava has completed her first full week of school and did amazing! She is so proud of herself and is enjoying every minute. Mommy got to spend some time with her Thursday to help her make a Gingerbread House at school. She had so much fun and Mommy enjoyed getting to help in another kiddo's classroom! The kids are adorable and they did some games and story time while parents were there, I love getting to see into some of their typical daily activities and the kids are so excited to show off too:)

Jenna had her Birthday Party recently with some friends from school. They all had a blast and was so fun to watch them all together. My Aunt planned a fun party fit for Jenna with crafts, lip glosses, nail polishes and even included a note from a ghost (Jenna has a ghost club at school).

Jenna is now also enrolled in Cheer-leading. She is officially a Cheer Katz. She was hooked after the first practice and is so excited to do an event! She is just learning the basics at this point but they do some parades and events so there will more to follow!
We are busily getting ready for the Holidays and preparing for me to return to work. Eric is still home and will be the stay at home Daddy while I am training so it will be great to have one parent home still for that month. We are still looking at school programs and there is a restaurant that he has been in talks with to join their team when their third property is confirmed. We are excited for our 2011 to begin...Great things to come!

Ava's First Day

Ava had her first day of preschool yesterday and absolutely loved it! She was ready to board the bus with Jenna and burst into tears when she couldn't. Ava attends the Pre-K program at Midway Elementary where Jenna is a 1st grader. She goes 4-5 days a week half days in the afternoons.
So there she sat with her backpack on from 8:30 until we left at 12:40. My typical picky eater that has no time for food ate an entire plate full of lunch to make her strong for school:)
She was absolutely giddy as we parked the car and walked to the school lobby where we met her teacher, Ms. Christy. Ava was able to tour her classroom the day before and met her teacher privately so she could prepare for her first day. She was very quiet and shy as she usually is when she is in a new environment. On her first day Ava was all smiles! Still very quiet and observant but just huge smiles! She quickly started making friends as the kids were walking in and getting excited for a new student:) Ava has two neighbors in her class, one of which is a close neighbor that the kids play with often.
Picking her up from her first day I was so anxious to hear how she did! She was beaming as she walked down the hall with her class! She talked about painting a Christmas Tree and playing with her new friends! She is so excited to return back today!
We will be posting next week after Jenna's first Cheer and Dance practice with Cheer Katz!